Target plans irk some in Lake Bluff

Store is planned for west side of town

February 25, 2013|By Michael Holtz, Chicago Tribune reporter

Car sit parked in front of a Target in Peru, Il. Lake Bluff officials said traffic was one of their biggest concerns about a proposal to build a Target in the North Shore suburb. (Daniel Acker, Bloomberg)

A Target store proposed for the west side of Lake Bluff has some officials — and other businesses — concerned about how it would change the quaint North Shore town.

The plan stands out as one of the largest redevelopment proposals the village has seen in years.

"I really feel like Lake Bluff is at a tipping point of going from a village to a city," said Michael Goldsberry, a member of the Lake Bluff Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.

The joint commission and board met last week to review a preliminary design of the proposed development and heard concerns about it would affect traffic, safety and locally owned retailers.

Susie McMurray said she was worried how the Target might affect business at her small boutique store, Voila, in downtown Lake Bluff. Members of the joint commission and board echoed her concerns, expressing their interest in finding the right balance between the interest of the developers and local business owners.

Although critical of some of the plan's design elements, commission and board member Mary Collins said the new store would benefit retailers across Lake Bluff.

"We have to shake off our little village spider webs and start thinking bigger," she said. "My hope is that this would make Lake Bluff more of a shopping destination."

Overall, village officials said they were pleased with improvements made by developers to their design plans since first presenting them on Jan. 16. Target partnered with McVickers/Oxford Real Estate Equities, a regional development firm, on the project.

The updated design features more windows and decorative exterior elements on the proposed store as well as 4 percent more green space on the entire property. It also includes additional landscaping and an improved bike path and pedestrian walkway.

"It's starting to look more like a store and less like a concrete prison," said Adam Moore, a member of the joint commission and board.

The proposal calls for a 139,000-square-foot store on the former Shepard Chevrolet property, a 14-acre lot near the intersection of Route 176 and Waukegan Road.

It also includes plans for 4,200-square-foot bank and additional retail space. One 4,200- and another 6,800-square-foot building are designed to hold as many as six tenants.

Village Administrator Drew Irvin said the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals would host a public hearing to discuss the proposal, probably in April. He estimates the village's consideration of the project could take six to eight months.